Pueblo County asks help from state to help fund marijuana scholarships

Pueblo County wants state money to give more people scholarships that’s being funded by marijuana tax money.

The county commissioners addressed it Monday.

The scholarship is the first of its kind.

They’re asking an organization called the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative to match the scholarship money the county is collecting.

Right now, the scholarship has $50,000 of the marijuana tax money in it.

The county is projecting to have more than $700,000 between the pot tax money and state funding in 2017.

The Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation is teaming up with the county in the scholarship process.

“We have such need in the community with growing tuition rates and decreased funding. So this is not an opportunity that we always come across with the ability to afford more scholarships to students,” PHEF Executive Director Beverly Duran said.

The tax on the recreational marijuana grows was approved by voters in November.

We asked CSU-Pueblo and Pueblo Community College if accepting marijuana scholarships would come with any violations from the federal government. CSU-P and PCC said they wouldn’t, since the money is coming from the county. They said the marijuana tax money is put into the county’s general fund, which can be used for what the county chooses.

If you want to apply for the scholarship, click here.